


like petals in the rain

by occultisaperta



Series: flowers for my love [3]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Comfort, Confession, Corpse Husband has Hanahaki, Hanahaki Disease, Happy Ending, Hurt, M/M, Mentions of Death, Protective Corpse Husband (Video Blogging RPF), Romance, Series, Soft Corpse Husband (Video Blogging RPF), Soft Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF), Soulmates, Sykkuno has Hanahaki, shower, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:27:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29407638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultisaperta/pseuds/occultisaperta
Summary: Now that they've confessed their feelings Corpse and Sykkuno have to navigate what that means, exactly.
Relationships: Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: flowers for my love [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119653
Comments: 18
Kudos: 223





	like petals in the rain

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for the positive response to this series. I meant for it to just be a dual perspective of the first story... but it seems like there are going to be quite a few installments.<3 I love these two boys.
> 
> \---  
> Make sure you read the other parts before this if you want context for what's going on <3

Our kiss could only continue for so long, though I wanted it to last forever. Sykkuno looked at me with eyes that were still wet with tears, and I felt the shock and warmth in my chest slowly slipping into something akin to disbelief. If anyone had suggested that this was going to happen to me even _yesterday_ , I probably wouldn't have believed them. 

As it was, Sykkuno swayed slightly and then leaned against my chest. He was still coughing, a few petals dribbling from his lips occasionally, but the steady flow of them had stopped. Our confessions saved us, even though I was aware of the fact that it would probably take a little time for the damage to heal and all of the petals to come up. 

I wanted to be here for him through it -- I wanted to make sure that he took _care_ of himself. Because it was obvious to me now that he'd come here to die. 

I completely ignored the fact that I was willing to let myself do the same -- I was...

Well...

I was _me._

Sykkuno was different; he was sweet and sharp and full of life and laughter and smiles. I couldn't believe that he'd been willing to just let himself fade away in another state because...

"Sykkuno?" My voice was soft. Now that things were settling a little, I could look around. There was a plastic tote still half full of black petals, toppled over beside us. It was physical proof more than anything as to how long this had been going on for him. It ached, but I managed to push myself to my feet. It was even worse, but I put my hand down and pulled Sykkuno up with me. We both swayed slightly; we were both covered in a mixture of blood and petals, but that was all right. 

"Do you have somewhere we can sit down?"

His eyes flickered around and he let out a soft laugh. "Uh... there's a mattress in my room. The furniture hasn't been delivered yet." He had the grace to look embarrassed, but beneath that, he was still dazed just as much as I was. He was shy when his reached for my hand, but our fingers fit together perfectly, like they were always meant to interlock. Nothing had ever felt more right.

He led me to the room, and I couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled from my throat at the sight of it. He wasn't lying. It was just a mattress and a bunch of boxes scattered around. The only thing he'd actually set up was his computer in the room opposite of us. Priorities.

"Sykkuno, you probably should have had the furniture delivered _before_ you moved in." I chided him only slightly, but sank gratefully onto the softness of the bed. We scooted until we could lean against the wall, and only then did I allow my head to fall back against the light gray wall so I could close my eyes and exhale.

I hadn't realized how tense I was since the call until that moment. A low groan poured from my throat, and muscles that had been taut and rigid were suddenly screaming with abuse. _Everything_ was slowly starting to ache, but the warmth that poured through me where Sykkuno still held my hand made it more than worth it.

"M-maybe, but I wasn't really thinking about that when I left, I just--" He cut himself off then, his body fidgeting slightly against mine. I could only assume it was because he knew that I wasn't going to like any answer that he gave as to _why_.

 _"Sykkuno_ ," My voice was pure gravel when I said his name, but he didn't have any trouble understanding me. 

Sykkuno had never had trouble, though. When my voice was lost in the crowd, he was the one who usually still noticed it. When there was something off about how I was feeling, he was usually the first to reach out to me... more than that, he asked in the quiet hush of a text or a call, because I think that he actually understood that I didn't want pity. I didn't want people to look at me as some poor thing that couldn't function.

I wanted to be strong enough to stand on my own; when he asked me if I needed help, or how I was feeling... it was never in a way that implied that I couldn't handle it.

It was in the way that he did everything; with a smile and a joke that was horrible but still managed to make me laugh.

He'd been _everything_ for a long time now, and I was just glad that Hanahaki hadn't managed to take him away from me before I was ready to admit it aloud.

The fact that it almost had made me slide my gaze to the side. Sykkuno was looking at me with wide, only slightly trepid eyes. I had a feeling that he _knew_ how I was going to react, now that my mind was starting to settle from the sweet rush of realizing that _he loved me, too_. I was just hypocritical enough that I was going to scold him for the exact same thing that I'd been doing myself.

"Sy," I said his name again, though I could feel the way that my throat was aching when I spoke. What I _wanted_ was a nice, hot shower with the steam and heat soothing my strained body... what I got was Sykkuno biting his lower lip in a soft, cute way that nearly made my resolve crumble. I wanted to tell him that he'd worried his friends, that he'd nearly killed himself...

But I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to muster the strength if it meant that his lower lip was going to start trembling.

"I'm fine, Corpse. It's okay now." He smiled innocently, and I probably would have managed to keep it to myself if it weren't for the fact that I could see his lips were stained slightly pink from blood... if there wasn't a black petal still clinging wetly in his hair.

"You could have died." My brows knit together and I pulled the orchid from the feathery strands, held it up between two fingers that stained crimson. "You should have told me."

He was looking at me with the strangest expression; somewhere between exhaustion and _upset_ , and something else brimming and boiling behind that.

"Corpse..." He managed to get my name out after a moment, and he moved with caution when his fingers stretched out and poked carefully at my blood-stained shirt and the few green petals that were clinging there. "Do you really have room to talk?"

There was only the slightest _sass_ undertone to his voice, and it made something inside of me feel even warmer. It was just another part of him that had made me _want_ him so much to begin with. I loved the fact that he was so sweet, and yet there were little bites beneath his smile sometimes; he didn't turn it on me, though.

At least, he hadn't until now.

"I don't... that's not the same thing." I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes again. I was so _tired_ , and everything _ached._ "If something happened to me, no one would _really_ miss me after a while, but if something happened to you--"

" _Corpse,"_ my body actually gave a violent jerk, because Sykkuno had _raised his voice_ when he said my name. My eyes snapped open and I saw him looking at me, that pink pout twisted into a frown. "I know that things have been hard for you, and maybe that was true in the past." His fingers tugged on mine until he pulled me slightly closer to him... until I could smell the perfume of copper and floral on his breath. "It's not true anymore. You have friends now -- you're important to so many people, you're--"

"I'm a passing thing--"

"No one is going to forget you. No one would be happier if you were gone, and--"

"It's okay, Sykkuno. I'm just happy that I can help people while I am relevant, I--"

"That's _bullshit_."

We both paused then. The silence between us stretched out for just a moment, and then I felt something bubbling up in my chest. It spilled out in a sharp burst, and a few of the flowers that were still lingering in my lungs came with it. I couldn't stop it.

I started laughing. He'd _finally_ cursed, and it was because of me. Honestly, it was a momentous moment, and it was a damn shame that we weren't on stream so it could be clipped.

Sykkuno knitted his brows closer, his cheeks slowly flooding a bright red. His mouth twitched like he was _thinking_ about smiling... but instead he sat and watched me until I finally managed to calm my giggles.

"Sykkuno... you cursed." It was the only thing that I could manage; he leaned in and buried his face against my shoulder to hide his deeping chagrin painted across his features. On one hand, I didn't want him to hide from me -- on the other, the feel of him burrowed at my side was sweet and warm and _right_ and it alleviated some of the pain still rippling through me. 

"Corpse, you mean enough that I was willing to die for you. Everyone cares about you so much... don't you understand that?"

_I was willing to die for you._

The little bit of laughter still tickling at the edges of my mind faded off with the words, with the way that his voice was thick with emotion. 

"Sykkuno--"

"Shut up, Corpse." He murmured the words against the fabric of my hoodie, but it didn't have the same bite as the curse had earlier. 

"Sy..." I had to shift back to get him to look at me, and his cheek was speckled with a smear of red blood; we really were both a mess. "I would never want you to _die_ for me." My words were thick, "And I'm probably never going to think that I'm _worth_ anything--"

"But you are." His voice was so insistent, "And if I have to spend the rest of my life trying to convince you, I will." 

We both paused again, because the weight of what he'd said was there and very clear in the air.

 _The rest of my life_.

That was a long time -- a big commitment... I let my eyes drop down and ran fingers through my curly hair with a nearly rueful grin. "Can I get that in writing before you change your mind?"

"Corpse..." Sykkuno's voice was so soft when he said my name, and I wanted to fall apart at the sound of it. He could have said anything to me and I probably would have done it in that moment. All of the convinction for me telling him how dumb it was for him to put himself at risk had somehow drained out of me at the way that he talked, the way he seemed so sure and so full of _promise_ for _the future_. I'd never looked past the moment before, because I'd never had anything to look towards.

Now it was all _green._

"Hmm?" I raised my eyes to meet his, and he smiled. Sweet. Gentle. "We're both kind of covered in flowers and blood. Do you, uh..." He swallowed visibly enough that I could see his adam's apple bob. "Do you want to take a shower?" A beat. A pause. 

_We're both..._

"D-do you... mean... with you?" Maybe I was being a little bold, but the idea of taking a shower with Sykkuno was something that was slowly making my brain melt in a good way. I'd come here thinking that I was going to lose him -- I'd never thought, I couldn't have ever imagined, that we'd be sitting here holding each other's hands and...

"I... I mean... I... yeah... uh." His face was slowly flooding crimson again, and he brought one hand up to brush his hair out of his eyes, cover his mouth for just a moment, and then press over his visage to muffle his words. "I mean, it's a big shower and if you wanted... we could... if you wanted."

"I do." I spilled the words out before he could stutter his way out of the idea, or before my own nerves caught up with me and stopped me from saying it. We were moving faster than I'd thought possible. It wasn't that I hadn't done things like this before... but I'd never even thought about it with Sykkuno. 

It was different.

He was different.

"Okay. Uh.." He stood up and pulled me with him -- I didn't have to ask for help, and his slim arms were surprisingly strong when he supported the motion. I only groaned a little at the sensation of my muscles straining. Now that the adrenaline was fading, I was really starting to feel how much everything _ached_ and how much my body needed rest.

This was the first time that the pain really felt like it was worth it, though.

Sykkuno led me to a door that spilled off of the right side of the bedroom.

"Here, wait just a second." He stepped through the door ahead of me and there was a shuffling sound and the whisper of cloth. When he opened the door, I realized what he'd done.

There was a towel over the mirror in front of the sink, like he'd listened to every stream I had -- like he knew how I felt about mirrors. My hear felt like it skipped a beat; that simple action made my face feel hot and flushed. I had to turn my focus to something else, because my throat was feeling _tight_ and my eyes were burning with how considerate Sykkuno really was, how much he listened to _everything_. How much he cared.

I turned my attention to the rest of the room instead. 

We were in the master bathroom, and I let out a low hum of appreciation, "You really can afford nicer things in Vegas, huh?" The shower was a walk-in with granite, and I could see one of the fancy showerheads attached to the ceiling. In California, I couldn't imagine how much something like this would have cost. Sykkuno simply grinned and ducked his head slightly. 

"It's cheaper than a one-bedroom in LA." 

He let go of my hand long enough to step forward and turn the knob on the shower. As the heat flooded the room, we were both faced with the fact that we were here... in the bathroom, and we'd known each other in person for less than an hour...

And now we were going to have to get naked.

The nerves that burned in my stomach were all for how disappointed he might be when he saw the rest of me. But the heat that was bubbling in my chest was all for how nice it would be to be under the water with him. He stepped forward and tugged at my sleeve gently. "Do I... uh... do you want me to close my eyes?" 

He sounded so earnest that it made me laugh again. "You don't have to close your eyes, Sykkuno. I just... uh..." My hands dropped down to the hem of my hoodie and I managed a shrug. "Temper your expectations." 

"I don't care what you look like, Corpse." Sykkuno's voice sweet, and he smiled at me in a way that told me he really did mean what he was saying. "You're perfect because you're you." 

It almost felt like a weight lifting off of my shoulders; when Sykkuno said something, you could tell when he really meant it. There was an earnest tone to his voice that made it cut through you and imprint on your soul. Everyone else seemed to have expectations of what I was going to look like, who I was going to be based on my voice.

Sykkuno had never _asked_ what I'd looked like. And even now, he hadn't mentioned the fact that he'd seen my face unmasked for a moment... and he wasn't looking at it as I pulled the mask that I'd replaced on the way to his room away again and very carefully lifted my hoodie up over my head. I could see the smile flit momentarily across his lips... and then he adverted his eyes anyway, even though I could see the heat there. He wanted to look.

And he wasn't going to until he was sure that I was ready.

A small cough dislodged another lingering petal from my chest and reminded me of why I loved him so much. Fate knew -- the disease knew -- before I was willing to admit it to myself. Being here in person with Sykkuno was going to imprint the emotion on every inch of my skin for how caring and considerate he was.

It was easier to pull the hoodie the rest of the way over my head, easier still to strip out of my boots and pants, my underclothes... and then quickly step into the water and back to the edge of the shower.

A part of me wished that I could have been as honorable as Sykkuno, but I couldn't; I snuck a peek of him when he pulled his sweater over his head and felt my stomach clench slightly at the lean muscles on his torso, the way his arms flexed and showed that he wasn't all slender.

There was a strength there.

He stepped into the shower through a mist of steaming water, and he laughed softly again. "You look like a cat, Corpse." 

My brows hiked, "W-what?"

"You're hiding in the corner and not letting the water touch you." The shower was big enough that there was space, and I realized that he was right. I was standing in the corner with my arms crossed over my chest, half hiding the mixture of tattoos and scars on my bare skin. Sykkuno wasn't looking at that, though. He was holding his hand out to me, and the only place that he was looking was my eyes.

It gave me the courage to take his hand and step forward and under the hot streaking liquid. A low groan of pleasure pooled from my chest that had nothing to do with the situation and everything to do with the feel of the water pressure beating heat down against my body.

"You have blood in your hair, Corpse."

His hand came up, brushed at the curls that were growing weighty as water soaked into them. I looked up at him, so close, and felt my breath slightly hitch in my chest. "I think it's yours."

We stared at each other for a minute, the proximity hotter than the water pouring down, and I couldn't ignore the fact that both of our bodies were streaking pink and that there were petals catching on the grated drain and causing water to pool slightly at our feet. Sykkuno's hand came up slowly and smoothed through my hair, pushed it out of my eyes, and he smiled at me. "You really are perfect." The words came in hushed awe from his chest, and his eyes widened as soon as he said it, like he actually hadn't meant for the confession to escape so earnestly from his lips.

"Sy..." My chest felt tight. _People didn't talk to me like that._ I couldn't see myself that way, either. But when I looked into his eyes I could see _him_ seeing me that way -- his gaze was the only mirror that I'd ever enjoyed looking into.

It meant more to me than I could express, more than I could say.

Instead, I raised my hand up and smoothed his hair back from his face. It was thick and soft, slightly tacky with blood... but it felt good to run my fingers through it and graze his scalp. 

With his eyes closed, I felt a small bolster of confidence. My hand shifted to trail for just a moment along his jawline and I heard a soft _sigh_ escape him. The sound was _everything_ , though barely audible over the water pouring around us. It was easy enough for me to find a new bottle of shampoo, and easier still for me to lather up his hair when another small sound of contentment spilled from his throat and Sykkuno's body relaxed against the motion of my fingers.

For the first few minutes, the suds were red, and then pink... but as the water washed through his black locks, it slowly turned clear. I couldn't erase what had happened to him, or how close he'd nearly come to dying... but I could at least get rid of all traces of it from his body.

The loofah that I found still had the tags on it, and a soft smile quirked the corner of my lips. Sykkuno really seemed to have moved here unprepared... but that was fine.

This was more than fine.

This was perfect.

As I lathered it with the bodywash I found, another soft laugh spilled from my chest.

"W-what?" Sykkuno opened one eye to peek at me, and I held the bottle up.

It was strawberry scented. 

I wasn't sure if the red on his cheeks was from the heat of the water of embarrassment. Either way, it was charming. I didn't hesitate in bringing the soapy bubbles to his neck to wipe away the traces of blood that were still there -- there was a chance, if we hadn't both been so exhausted from a disease that had nearly killed us, that this might have been a little more... difficult on us both.

As it was, Sykkuno was pale, and my body was only just starting to relax slightly under the heat of the water. There was an intimacy here that wasn't overridden by sexual desire... and honestly, this was better than some half-blind pawing at one another. It meant _more._ I _wanted_ him, and I was _very_ aware of how attractive he was in person, how slender and sweet his body looked...

But at that moment, I wanted to take care of him. To make sure that he was safe and whole, real...

Mine...

There were too many thoughts flitting through my head, and Sykkuno seemed to sense it. He shifted his hand up and took the loofah from me, smiled softly. "My turn?"

Somehow, he was always a mind reader for when situations were getting too intense for me mentally -- when I was overthinking. He could tell.

"Sy..." 

"Shh, turn around." 

He didn't give me a chance to respond though -- instead, he grabbed my shoulder gently and turned me to face the wall. There was a moment without touch, and then his fingers were running carefully through my hair.

I couldn't stop the low groan of pleasure and contentment that poured from me, and the heat of his almost nervous laugh at the sound of it was enough to let me lean my head back and close my eyes.

He could have done this facing me -- I'd been facing him... but I knew what he was doing.

He was making sure I was comfortable.

Again.

The amount of consideration that he had was seemingly endless.

And the sensation of his fingers very carefully and meticulously working through my hair was heaven.

I wanted--

There were so many things that I wanted, but I kept myself silent beneath the touch of his hands as he worked shampoo through my hair until I was sure that the water was running clean.

He didn't stop his motion; the loofah was soft on my skin, just a little scratchy... but it felt good when he ran it along my back, carefully worked against my neck. 

"D-do you have any blood on your chest?" His voice was soft, level with my ear since we were the same height. It was almost hard to open my eyes -- I was so relaxed from the motion of his fingers that I felt like I was drifting on clouds. When I did flutter my lids open, I looked down and saw streaks of crimson along my torso. 

I wasn't sure if it was mine or his. 

"Yeah." I spoke the word carefully, aware of the fact that I could have just wiped it off myself. I paused for a moment and took a deep breath and then turned -- his eyes were fixated just below my sternum, and he moved his fingers with sweet precision that nearly made me sway where I was standing. 

"There." He murmured the word and let the loofah fall to his side as the water washed away the last traces of pink down the drain. The only thing left to show what had happened was black and green flowers, floating in the water like petals in the rain. I looked at the swirl of them for a moment and then slowly raised my gaze back to Sykkuno -- there was no way to avoid the sight of his body as I trailed upward, and my throat felt tight, my body _too_ warm. 

"Sy..." 

He bit his lower lip again and swayed slightly. The motion let him lean into me so that our foreheads touched, so that I was drowning in the smell of strawberries and _Sykkuno._

"Corpse, I--" He hesitated for a moment and then pressed his mouth against mine. The kiss was soft and sweet, and though there was still a lingering taste of copper, I didn't mind. Sykkuno was moving his lips in a slow motion made velvet by the water trailing against our skin. The sound that spilled low from the back of my throat caught against his and made him raise his arms, wrap them around me... tangle them in my wet hair, and tug slightly. 

The sensation made my eyes flutter, and my hands shot out to wrap around his waist, blunt nails trailing a hot line against his back for just a moment before he let out a small whimper and then _swayed_ again.

He pulled back with a gasp, his cheeks spotted crimson, his eyes darker than usual.

And then he coughed, and another lingering petal spilled from his lips... and I realized how pale he looked.

It took everything in me to take a shuddering breath and trail my hands from his back to his shoulders... push him just slightly away, though I couldn't let go of him completely.

I was aware that our exhausted bodies had reacted to one another... but now wasn't the time. 

He needed rest.

"Sykkuno," my voice was so deep that I was surprised the syllables actually made sense. He blinked up at me like someone surfacing from a deep dive, his eyes wide, his breath coming slightly ragged. Even as it did, he wavered on his feet again. It took one more deep, shuddering breath for me to lean forward and shut the water off. "You should lay down."

" _We_ should lay down." He quickly amended what I said, and something inside of me sparked again, warm and curious. 

"You want me to stay?"

He laughed abruptly and wrapped his fingers around mine and squeezed tight. "I don't want you to leave. Ever." 

My chest felt warm at his words and I looked down. "Let me know if you still feel that way tomorrow."

"I'll let you know every day," Sykkuno murmured the words softly, and it sounded like a promise that he was determined to keep.

\---

I woke the next morning and instantly pushed my fingers to the other side of the bed. The mattress was empty, but my hand connected with a piece of paper. 

It took a moment to wipe the sleep from my eyes to read it, but when I did, I couldn't help to smile. The paper was cute stationery, and there were two petals attached to the top with a _Hello Kitty_ Band-Aid. One black. One green. 

> _Went to buy some food, there's nothing in the house. I'll be back soon. Until then..._
> 
> _I promise to spend every day for the rest of my life showing you how much you mean to me, how much you're worth, and how much you matter._
> 
> _I love you._
> 
> _There. Now you have it in writing._
> 
> _xSykkuno_

**Author's Note:**

> So... we almost had some smut here >_> And the next part will be all of that. <3 Thank you so much for the comments and kudos! They really inspire me to keep going.


End file.
